The Wildcats were set on asserting themselves atop the standings and began pressing the Red Dragons early. It was not until the second half that Maple Grove began to figure out the Sherman defense, but by then it was too late as the Wildcats held on to the lead for a 50-38 victory.

“We stress every day that defense creates our offense and that’s our best offense,” Sherman head coach Emily Eckwahl stated. “You need a bunch of girls who really want to work doing not so flashy things and I got a whole crew that’s ready and willing to do that.”

Every player on Sherman played a big factor pressuring the Red Dragons when they had possession, but Maple Grove made it just as difficult, especially in the paint, to get on the scoreboard.

Bryanna Cornell and Meg Ryan towered under the basket dishing out several blocked shots and collecting 11 and seven rebounds, respectively.

Maple Grove’s Meg Ryan puts up a shot between Sherman’s Isa Kioko and Jayne Chambers during Friday’s CCAA Division 2 girls basketball game in Sherman. P-J photo by Christian Storms

“Bryanna is incredible, she had 10 blocked shots the last game we played,” Maple Grove head coach Mark Mansfield stated. “She challenges every shot, the rebounds she figures every one is hers and tonight Sherman boxes out so it makes it that much tougher. Having her down there in the middle that sets up everything else. Meg is just a freshman, she’s learning, but she’s a big strong girl and I’m looking forward to what the future holds for her too.”

It was also difficult to get anything outside on the Red Dragons as the defense smothered the Wildcats with freshman Morgan Caldwell leading the way collecting seven steals and Cornell added four.

“She is a very intense little girl,” Mansfield said about Caldwell. “She gets knocked around, she’s got enough bruises on her because when she gets after it you can see. She’s only a freshman, she’s still got a lot of maturity in terms of physically, so I’m pretty happy with the way she plays.”

However, Sherman started moving the ball better in the second quarter and the points began to follow with more open looks being generated. The depth of the Wildcats made it difficult for Maple Grove to target just one or two players and they finished with four girls scoring double-digits.

“It’s a fun problem for me to have to decide who’s going and when,” Eckwahl said about Sherman’s depth. “Really it can be any one of them any night and the beauty of this team is that the girls don’t care who it is as long as someone is getting their numbers for the team they’re stoked.”

Sherman's Emmersen Crawford blocks a shot by Maple Grove's Claire Price during CCAA D2 action on Friday. P-J photo by Christian Storms

As Sherman picked up the pace on both ends of the floor it began running away with the game, building a 24-13 halftime lead and throughout the third quarter the lead had even reached 20 points.

Emmersen Crawford led the way offensively with 13 points, then she grabbed six rebounds and six steals in a strong all-around performance.

“We ask Emmersen to do a lot of different things,” Eckwahl said about her freshman guard. “She had to help break the press, she had to play in the post, she had to play the middle of our press and she does it without ever questioning why. She just says ‘OK, coach’ and it’s just really awesome to have a kid like that on your team.”

Sherman (9-1, 6-0) also received 12 points, three assists and two steals from Baya Oehlbeck, then another 11 points, four assists and three rebounds from Kelsey Wagner and Teagan Gratto had 10 points, six boards and three steals.

“We knew coming into this game that Maple Grove was going to give us their best game,” Eckwahl added. “They’re a really formidable opponent and we knew we had to come ready for their shooters and inside presence. This was a big boost of confidence for our girls to stay focused in the game when Maple Grove crawled back into it.”

Maple Grove's Morgan Caldwell lays up a shot while being defended by Sherman's Teagan Gratto during CCAA D2 action on Friday. P-J photo by Christian Storms

Maple Grove (7-2, 5-1) fought in the fourth quarter to get back in the game and outscored the Wildcats 12-7 and Claire Price finished with a team-high 10 points.

“I knew coming in what you come into here in Sherman,” Mansfield stated. “Their intensity is something we haven’t seen yet and you try to prepare the girls for that, but it’s tough to simulate that in practice, it doesn’t happen. First half, we had adjustments to make. I was really happy how we came through in the fourth quarter there. We got ourselves back somewhat close and we just played a heck of a lot better, but I look at it as now we know, there’s no more surprises so hopefully when they come to our place we’ll be a little more prepared.”

MAPLE GROVE (38)

Trim 2 0 4, Cornell 3 2 8, Ryan 0 0 0, Halstrom 3 1 9, Price 3 1 10, Caldwell 2 3 7. Totals 13 7 38.

SHERMAN (50)

Gable 0 0 0, Emory 0 0 0, Kioko 1 2 4, Chambers 0 0 0, Crawford 5 1 13, Wagner 3 4 11, Gratto 5 0 10, Oehlbeck 4 0 12. Totals 18 7 50.

3-point goals–Halstrom 2, Price 3, Crawford 2, Wagner 2, Oehlbeck 4.

Maple Grove 6 7 13 12 — 38

Sherman 9 15 19 7 — 50